Tuesday, September 10, 2024

Movie review - "Reflections in a Golden Eye" (1967) ***1/2

 When I grew up Ray Stark was this figure of terror, especially in accounts of the David Begelman case and David Puttnam at Columbia, but he had classy taste. This was not obviously commercial material - although I guess it had sexy Southerners and included Elizabeth Taylor stripping off. Maybe that and horny Marlon Brando would've meant more a decade earlier.

Anyway the story - Brando is married to Elizabeth Taylor who is sleeping with Brian Keith who is married to Julie Harris, and Brando is hot for nude horse riding Robert Forster who is obsessed with Taylor. Zorro David is one of cinema's first gay besties - Harris' camp Filipino houseboy.

Brando's performance is interesting - he has a weird Southern accent and does a lot of emoting. I didn't buy it. 

The ending is directed in a slightly silly way IMHO but it seems to have influenced American Beauty - closeted military man kills object of desire.

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